I’ve spent fifteen days in a very special meditation retreat near a southern Taiwanese city, 10000 kilometres away from my home. We were doing karmakiller meditation for many hours each day, to help elevating ourselves, our loved ones, and the planet. I learned here that the island gave home to numerous saints and Buddhist (and non-Buddhist) masters in the past. We glimpsed shrines and temples wide around wherever we went. One could feel something sacred being present in the air… This is one of the most famous Buddhist places close to our retreat:

Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery and Museum (wikipedia)

I saw a lot of gekkos and lizards on the walls and the trees, almost every day. They were so cute!

Taiwanese lizard (not my photos – I did not make photos during the retreat)This one might be the same lizard but a female one (my guess)Common house gecko – they could be seen everywhere

Our flight was pleasant with the Emirates and quite long, the whole journey took more than 25 hours: Budapest – Dubai, Dubai – Taipei, Taipei – Kaohsiung. We ordered vegan meals when booked the seats and we were happy to see they could cook for us – our food was labeled as strict vegetarian.

My fear from flying almost fully disappeared and on our way back I sat to the window. I could see huge part of Mesopotamia, the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, and the lines of mountains as we progressed towards (and through) Asia Minor. Many of the places where I once lived lied under us… I am so grateful for the experience!